◆ SpookStack

acaaqarrresge sari Shee PSs ins i LRAT NRENT OOTY SST RETTIG om -~--- Working Copy ane : | - Page of USAMA BIN LADEN’S (UBL) guesthouses, where the Mujahidin that came to fight in Afghanistan were required to register. These registration records later provided’ with extensive contacts to Islamist fighters around the world.. AL-QAEDA includes, in : addition to the warriors present at USAMA BIN LADEN'S camps, a loose network of terrorist cells throughout the world. -The most outstanding features of AL-QAEDA are its international outreach -and vast financial resources, derived mainly from USAMA BIN ‘LADEN’ S personal wealth and financial dealings. (U) USAMA BIN LADEN was raised in Saudi Arabia - in a wealthy, high profile, family of Yemeni origins. The beginning of his radicalization dates back to his university studies in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he was linked to members of the ‘Muslim Brotherhood. Later, his involvement in the Afghan struggle against the Soviet occupation played a major role in ‘shaping his ideology. During this experience, he found a sense of purpose and became deeply religious. USAMA BIN LADEN also made contacts with Islamic fighters from around the world and participated in’a victorious struggle against a secular superpower. The combination of USAMA BIN LADEN’S wealth, connection to, and command over experienced, motivated, and radical Islamic militants, and his fervent anti-U.s. orientation make hima Saxious threat to U.S&. national security. (0) “AL- ~QAEDA operates approximately 12 training camps - in Afghanistan, in which it has reportedly trained as many as 5,000 militants. These militants have allegedly created cells in’ 50 countries: Some of these trainees. may be "sleeper" agents, ‘who live undetected among local populations. ‘(0) AL-QAEDA members are familiar with modern communications and have been reported to use encrypted e- -mail, cellular phones, satellite communications, and training manuals | - On CD-ROMs. ‘The group emphasizes the symbolic value of targets - when making its selection, e.¢., U.S. embassies, World Trade Center, military barracks, USS Cole, etc. ; (U) The U.S. State Department currently links AL- - QAEDA to many recent terrorist attacks, among them the World Trade Center bombing (February 1993); the attacks in Riyadh (November 1995) and Dhahran (June 1996), Saudi Arabia; the assassination attempt on Egyptian President Mubarak in Ethiopia (June 1995); _ the near-simultaneous bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania (August . 1998); and the. bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen (November 2000). : tw) AL- -QAEDA may have several hundred to several thousand members... AL-QAEDA serves as a focal point or umbrella organization for a worldwide network that includes,. among others, many Sunni Islamic extremist groups such as Egyptian. Islamic” REQ. 3 SUPP fs RRR IN Ee ETN TY DR TE ETE ENN ENT IEE 000000673 LiOnitenrs saad